The amount of development currently going on in Vietnam is not only reflected by the increase in spacious buildings and larger, better roads, but in the comprehensive development of every aspect, including politics, socio-economics and culture.

This was stated by the Vice Chairwoman of the Cuba-Vietnam Friendship Association (CVFA), Marta Rojas, at a meeting with members of the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association in Hanoi on May 12. During the US war, Rojas had visited Vietnam many times to report on the effectiveness of the country’s resistance efforts.

Rojas said that, as in her previous visits to Vietnam since the country’s national liberation and reunification, she had once again witnessed the Vietnamese people’s ceaseless efforts to realise President Ho Chi Minh’s vision of making the country more developed and a better place to live.

In the past, young Vietnamese people were ready to join the army and sacrifice their lives for national independence and freedom and now they try their best to become scientists, economists and engineers to serve national construction and development, she added.

The Cuban journalist looked back on her unforgettable memories of the activities of the Cuban Committee for Solidarity with Vietnam (currently the CVFA) and her visits to report back on the progress being made on the battlefields of Southern Vietnam .

The Vietnamese people’s struggle drew support from Cuban people of all classes, including scientists, writers, journalists, painters, actors and doctors, she said, adding that the Cuban people’s support was vivid evidence of the special friendship that existed between the two nations.

At the meeting, Ana Maria Diaz Canals, the Director of the Jose Marti Publishing House, said that to realise the agreements signed between the Cuban Book Institute and Vietnam’s Publication Department, this time she had brought a 13-volume collection of books by Jose Marti to present it to Vietnam to help the Vietnamese people understand more about Cuba’s national hero.

The two Cuban friends said they felt honoured to visit Vietnam on the occasion of the 120 th birthday of President Ho Chi Minh, a global cultural celebrity and a hero for both the Vietnamese and Cuban peoples./.